KNIGHTS' AUSTIN WATSON NAMED OHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced that playoff MVP Austin Watson of the OHL Champion London Knights is the OHL Player of the Week after scoring two goals and one assist for three points in the final three games of the Rogers OHL Championship Series.

Watson helped the Knights capture their second Robertson Cup title as OHL Champions defeating the Niagara IceDogs in five games earning the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award presented to the player Most Valuable to his team in the 2012 playoffs. Watson scored once in Game 3 at home last Monday night in a 3-2 win over the IceDogs before setting up Vladislav Namestnikov’s game-winner on Wednesday in a 4-1 road victory in Game 4. He then opened the scoring in the 2-1 series-clinching Game 5 victory on Friday claiming first star honours becoming just the second Knight following Corey Perry in 2005 to claim playoff MVP honours.

Watson, a 20-year-old from Ann Arbor, Michigan, was selected in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators. He scored 10 goals and seven assists for 17 points in 19 playoff games for the Knights and was a critical part of their penalty-kill unit blocking countless shots throughout the playoffs. Watson earned his second Robertson Cup OHL title in his four-year career winning previously with the Windsor Spitfires as a rookie in 2009.

Fellow Knights Vladislav Namestnikov and Olli Maatta were also considered after recording three points in three games with Namestnikov scoring once and adding two assists, and Maatta contributing three assists. In goal, the Knights’ Michael Houser stopped 87 shots in his final three playoff victories posting a goals-against-average of 1.33 and save percentage of .956.

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